Chariots of the Gods posits a variety of hypotheses dealing with the possibility of extraterrestrial beings influencing ancient technology. Von Däniken suggests that some ancient structures and artifacts appear to represent higher technological knowledge than is presumed to have existed at the times they were manufactured. Von Däniken maintains that these artifacts were produced either by extraterrestrial visitors or by humans who learned the necessary knowledge from them.[1][3][4]

The book also suggests that ancient artwork throughout the world could be interpreted as depicting astronauts, air and space vehicles, extraterrestrials, and complex technology. Von Däniken describes elements that he believes are similar in art of unrelated cultures.[1][12][13] Some artwork that von Däniken cites include the ancient JapaneseDogū figurines (which he believed to resemble astronauts in space suits) and 3,000 year-old carvings in the Egyptian New Kingdom Temple that appear to depict helicopter-like machines.[7]

The book goes on to suggest that the origins of religions, including interpretations of the Old Testament of the Bible, are reactions to contact with an alien race. According to von Däniken, humans considered the technology of the aliens to be supernatural and the aliens themselves to be gods. Von Däniken asks if the oral and literal traditions of most religions contain references to visitors from stars and vehicles traveling through air and space. These, he says, should be interpreted as literal descriptions which have changed during the passage of time and become more obscure.[1][2][3][14]

Von Däniken also spends around one-third of the book discussing the possibility that humans could theoretically offer primitive civilizations on interstellar worlds advanced technology by the year 2100. This would, he writes, mimic the ancient extraterrestrial contact von Däniken believed to have happened on Earth.[4][17]

Many scientists and historians have rejected his ideas, claiming that the book's conclusions were based on faulty, pseudoscientific evidence, some of which was later demonstrated to be fraudulent or fabricated, and under illogical premises. For example, Ronald Story wrote a book rebutting von Däniken's ideas in 1976 titled The Space Gods Revealed. A similar internationally bestselling book, titled Crash Go The Chariots by Clifford Wilson, appeared in 1972.

Soon after the publication of Chariots of the Gods?, von Däniken was accused of stealing the ideas of French author Robert Charroux.[18]

The iron pillar of Delhi, erected by Chandragupta II the Great, which von Däniken claimed did not rust.

One artifact offered as evidence in the book has been disclaimed by von Däniken himself. Chariots asserts that a supposedly rust-free iron pillar in India was evidence of extraterrestrial influence, but von Däniken admitted in a Playboy interview that the pillar was man-made and that as far as supporting his theories goes "we can forget about this iron thing." Neither this nor any other discredited evidence has been removed from subsequent editions of Chariots of the Gods.[20][21]

One book commonly cited in support of von Däniken is The Spaceships of Ezekiel by former NASA design engineer Josef F. Blumrich (March 17, 1913 – February 10, 2002), who also wrote a summary article, "The Spaceships of the Prophet Ezekiel.".[22]

ChariotsoftheGods was on The New York Times bestseller list and have helped launched Daniken's career as a public speaker. Daniken has now sold 70 million copies of his books as of January 2017.[23][6][24]

A follow-up called In Search of Ancient Mysteries aired the following year and was also narrated by Rod Serling.[27][28] A different TV documentary, The Case of the Ancient Astronauts directed by Graham Massey, was released in 1977 and is based on von Däniken's work.[29][30]

In 1993, von Däniken produced a 25-part series entitled Auf den Spuren der All-Mächtigen (Pathways of the Gods) for German television station, Sat.1. In 1996, a one-hour television special called, Chariots Of The Gods - The Mysteries Continue, aired on ABC and was produced by ABC/Kane. ABC/Kane produced another television special with von Däniken the following year called The Mysterious World – Search for Ancient Technology. It aired on the Discovery Channel in the United States and on RTL in Germany.[31][32][33][34]

The global media rights to the book have since been purchased by Media Invest Entertainment which is developing a "360-degree entertainment" franchise entitled Chariots of the Gods.[35][36]

The Chariots of the Gods spawned multiple sequels, including Gods from Outer Space and The Gods Were Astronauts. The theory in the original book is said to have influenced a variety of science fiction books, films, and television series. For instance, it is considered the inspiration for the History Channel television series, Ancient Aliens.[37] It has also been used as a plot element in television shows and movies like Star Trek, Stargate, The X-Files, the Alien franchise (most notably, Prometheus), and the Indiana Jones franchise.[17][38][39][40][41]